Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton and his campaign team meet in their office in Danbury, Conn, on Monday, March 31, 2014. From left: Heath Fahle, campaign manager, Mayor Mark Boughton, Christopher Oliveira, Attorney for the candidate and John Kleinhans, political director of the campaign. has surrounded himself with a notable team for his GOP run for governor. Monday March 31, 2014. Boughton is running for the GOP nomination for governor of Connecticut.
Photo: H John Voorhees III

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, who tried to replicate his local political success by holding up the Hat City as a beacon for Connecticut, dropped out of the Republican race for governor Wednesday because of an anticipated lack of money.

The GOP nominee for lieutenant governor in 2010, Boughton immediately threw his support Wednesday to Tom Foley, his running mate from four years ago.

Foley will face state Senate Minority Leader John McKinney in a Republican primary on Aug. 12. The winner will tangle with Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy in the November midterm election, which handicappers have projected as a toss-up race.

The tipping point for Boughton, who labeled himself as a "blue-collar Republican" and brought levity to the race -- often 140 characters at a time on Twitter -- came this week, when he learned that running mate and Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti was in danger of failing to qualify for the primary.

Without the ability to pool political contributions with Lauretti, Boughton conceded it would be nearly impossible for him to qualify for $1.4 million in public funding for the primary under the state's so-called clean elections program.

"I just didn't see a path that would produce a victory," Boughton, 50, told Hearst Connecticut Media. "I thought that I would be a better governor. That's why I ran."

Boughton's detractors in the state's seventh-largest city -- including Lynn Taborsak, a former mayoral opponent and former Democratic Town Committee chairman -- renewed their criticism that the governor's race has been a distraction for Danbury's longest-serving mayor.

"Oh, God. I guess that means we're stuck with him," Taborsak said. "That's the price we have to pay. He was a part-time mayor, and I imagine we didn't pay him a part-time salary."

Boughton said Danbury, where his late father, Donald Boughton, was mayor from 1977 to 1979, has always been his top priority.

"I haven't missed a beat as far as running the city of Danbury," Boughton said.

Outside Danbury High School, where he once taught social studies, Boughton launched a trial balloon in the governor's race last August before becoming an official candidate in January. Throughout the race, he tried to sell Republicans, the state's smallest voter bloc, on the concept that Danbury, low in crime and unemployment compared to comparable cities, could be a microcosm for Connecticut.

"Look, I think it was positive for Danbury because everywhere else I went, I was able to tell the Danbury story," he said.

Earlier this week, Boughton said his campaign canvassed GOP registrars of voters in several communities to gauge whether a petition drive by Lauretti would meet the mark of 8,190 signatures from registered Republicans.

Though the Secretary of the State's Office is still tabulating the results, Boughton said he expects the effort to come up short by 1,000 names.

"It made more sense to suspend the campaign," he said. "If we do happen to get those signatures, we'll turn the lights back on."

Boughton drafted Lauretti last month after his original running mate, former Groton Mayor Heather Bond Somers, broke away from the ticket to run on her own.

"If you don't have money for the primary, where you going?" Lauretti said. "We stood a better chance with the two of us, as opposed to going it alone."

Lauretti was not in an endorsement frame of mind, however.

"I don't think either represents our Republicans' best chance," Lauretti said of Foley and McKinney. "To me, it's all about who can get elected and who can't get elected."

Between them, Boughton and Lauretti have 38 years of mayoral experience.

"Let's not kid anybody. There were two people in this race that had an awful lot of experience in the areas that matter to most people," Lauretti said. "Who are the people on Main Street government? Who are the people who have to balance budgets? Who are the people who have to provide a service to the people?"

Foley, who is seeking to avenge his 2010 loss to Malloy by fewer than 6,500 votes and who earned the GOP's endorsement last month, welcomed Boughton to his corner.

"I thank Mayor Boughton for running a strong, issues-based campaign and for bringing his skills and experience as mayor of Danbury and a former legislator to the debate about solving Connecticut's problems," Foley said in a statement. "I appreciate Mark's endorsement and look forward to working with him to take Connecticut in a better direction. With smarter policies and new leadership we can restore the prosperity, promise and pride our citizens want and deserve."

McKinney, the Legislature's top Republican, said he was surprised by Boughton's endorsement of Foley.

"I'm moving forward and looking forward to a debate with Tom Foley and letting Republicans across Connecticut be heard," McKinney told Hearst. "You can't pick your opponents, and the message is the same. None of that changes, whether it's six people, three people or two people."

State GOP Chairman Jerry Labriola Jr. called Boughton a talented and dedicated public servant and a valuable Republican.

"His depth of knowledge on a wide variety of issues brought an important perspective to this race," Labriola said. "With common-sense Republican leadership, Mayor Boughton has made Danbury one of the most prosperous cities in Connecticut."

A spokesman for the re-election campaign of Malloy, who is in his first term and ran successfully for governor on his record as mayor of Stamford, declined to comment.

Boughton finished second to Foley at the party convention, but earned enough votes to qualify for the primary. Somers, close to qualifying for public funding on her own at the time, cut ties with Boughton five days later. Their alliance lasted just four months, with Boughton drafting the relatively unknown Somers to run with him in late January with the thought that she would bring a gender and geographic balance to the ticket.

"Unfortunately, Heather decided not to honor her own commitment or honor her own word," Boughton said Wednesday. "Look, it's not ill feelings. I just come from a different world. When I make a commitment, I honor it."

On the same day that Boughton exited the race for governor, Somers, ironically, submitted her application Wednesday to the state Elections Enforcement Commission for $400,000 in public funding for the GOP primary for lieutenant governor.

"Heather made a decision to run on her own merits for lieutenant governor because she is the strongest candidate to help a GOP ticket defeat Dan Malloy," said Jon Conradi, Somers' campaign manager.

By his own estimates, Boughton is $75,000 short of the $250,000 political contribution threshold for gubernatorial candidates under the Citizens' Election Program, which requires them to raise the money in no larger than $100 increments.

Less than a month remained for Boughton to make up the difference, which he concluded would be a lost cause.

Boughton underscored that his exit was not scripted by Foley or anyone else in the GOP.